England player ratings vs Ireland
England player ratings vs Ireland: England head coach Eddie Jones was rewarded with a fairly emphatic display from his side in their 24-12 win over Ireland at Twickenham on Sunday afternoon.
It was a much-improved display from the disappointing loss to France in the opening round, as well as a more stringent test of every aspect of the side than the game in Edinburgh in the second round.
We have run the rule over all 23 of England’s players, as they breathed life into their Guinness Six Nations title aspirations and denied Ireland a shot at the Grand Slam or a Triple Crown.
- Elliot Daly – 7
A consummate display from Daly, whose hard work was rewarded when he chased George Ford’s kick through and beat Jacob Stockdale to dot the ball down. The full-back also won several aerial balls on chased kicks and his own work with the boot was incisive and influential in the battle for field position.
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Watch: Pivac and Jones critical of officials following loss to France.
- Jonny May – 7
The wing was living on scraps a little in terms of the ball being in his hands, as England repeatedly punished Ireland with their kicking game, rather than their width. May contributed significantly to that, though, as his energy and work rate on the chase, as well as his ability in the air, caused the visitors at Twickenham plenty of problems.
- Manu Tuilagi – 8
Tuilagi’s impact was felt quickly by Ireland, as he was England’s go-to weapon off the top of a well-functioning lineout. His appearances at 12 and running back against the grain caught the Irish defence out on multiple occasions and laid the platform for England’s first two tries. He was a bit quieter as the game went on and made a couple of handling errors, although it was certainly a positive performance overall.
- Owen Farrell – 8
He was lucky not to see a yellow card for holding on to CJ Stander’s leg at a breakdown, though that indiscretion aside, Farrell’s impact was keenly felt by England. The centre was successful with all four of his kicks at goal and his kicking from hand was consistently effective, whether finding space, distance or England’s chase. A couple of fizzing miss-passes were unlucky not to end up in tries, too.
https://twitter.com/RugbyPass/status/1231503692622422017?s=20
- Jonathan Joseph – 7
Joseph passed all the tests that everyone knew were coming his way, as he dealt well with the aerial contests and his positioning on the pitch gave no indication that this was his first international start on the wing. His footwork impressed, especially when he came off of his wing and looked for work in the midfield.
- George Ford – 8
A strong outing for Ford, with his early try a tone-setter for the oft-criticised English fly-half. The Leicester Tiger had plenty of joy with his kicking game from hand and though one of his kick-passes was inadvisable, his decision-making in general was very good. His interplay with Farrell and Tuilagi was potent and Ireland struggled to read and stop it.
- Ben Youngs – 7
One or two early errant passes aside, it was a much-improved performance from Youngs after his struggles in Paris. His box-kicking was contestable throughout and clearly in sync with England’s chase, whilst his spotted the space well for Ford’s early try. He played with tempo and England flourished as a result.
https://twitter.com/RugbyPass/status/1231623183809351680?s=20
- Joe Marler – 7
The loosehead will have enjoyed his contest with Tadhg Furlong and edged the scrum battle with his British and Irish Lions teammate, even squeezing a penalty out of the Irish tighthead. He profited as a first receiver and on the pick and go, too, making England some valuable yards close to the ruck.
- Jamie George – 7
The Saracen successfully connected with seven of his eight throws and the English set-piece ticked along nicely during his time on the pitch. Perhaps his biggest impact, though, was with his increased ball-carrying, where he frequently found gaps and weak shoulders in Ireland’s fringe defence.
- Kyle Sinckler – 6
Sinckler came under some early pressure from Cian Healy, although he survived it and helped give England parity at the scrum moving forward. His customary pop passes and quick hands as a ball-player also brought England a level of joy, too.
https://twitter.com/RugbyPass/status/1231605283228569600?s=20
- Maro Itoje – 8
The lock was a defensive nuisance throughout the game, slowing Irish ball at the breakdown, charging down Conor Murray’s box-kick and bringing remarkable line-speed and tackle accuracy in the midfield. His physicality in the tackle was also telling, as he stripped the ball in one collision and repeatedly drove Irish carriers backwards.
- George Kruis – 6
Kruis barely put a foot wrong at Twickenham, although other forwards will steal the headlines with the efficacy of their involvements. Kruis marshalled England’s defence around the fringes well and badgered the Irish lineout.
- Courtney Lawes – 8
Another player who successfully dispelled his Parisian demons, if he had any, as the converted lock was the target for all seven of England’s successful first half lineouts. The Northampton Saint also made a big impact with his ball-carrying by shouldering plenty of the burden for front-foot ball with the English front row.
https://twitter.com/RugbyPass/status/1231300584373936133?s=20
- Sam Underhill – 8
With England’s tight five and Lawes picking up the slack with the physical grunt work, it seemed to free up Underhill to play his most effective role, that of a defensive momentum-shifter. His physical tackles, impressive line-speed and breakdown jackaling all showed up at Twickenham and helped England deny Ireland any quick ball on the front-foot.
- Tom Curry – 7
Similar to Underhill, the work done by other members of the pack allowed Curry to roam a little more and have a bigger influence on the game. The back rower popped up in the wider channels as a ball-carrier on multiple occasions and the fact he wasn’t having to do the laborious work close to the ruck saw him utilise his mobility and succeed in the open spaces.
Replacements
- Luke Cowan-Dickie – 7
The hooker was 100% accurate with his lineouts after replacing George and even popped up with England’s third try of the game from an ensuing maul.
- Ellis Genge – 7
The loosehead went after Andrew Porter aggressively following his introduction and is looking every bit effective enough to start for England, should they want him to.
- Will Stuart – 6
England’s scrum parity and at times advantage was maintained when Stuart replaced Sinckler and it will be encouraging to Jones that his mobile ball-carrying props are improving swiftly at the set-piece.
- Joe Launchbury – 6
Put in a solid defensive showing as England saw out the game from a position of strength.
- Charlie Ewels – 6
Ewels came on at No 8 for England, before shifting to blindside when Ben Earl arrived from the bench. His impact was solid in the limited minutes and his position at the base of the scrum could be cause for debate moving forward.
- Ben Earl – 6
A brief glimpse into his ball-carrying and ball-handling ability, though there were few opportunities for him to showcase them more vividly in the dying minutes.
- Willi Heinz – 6
Solid game management from the scrum-half, as England went into cruise control in the final quarter of the game.
- Henry Slade – 6
A couple of physical tackles as the clock wound down late in the second half.
Watch: Jones apologises over half-Asian joke
Comments on RugbyPass
Good to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to commentsThis just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
19 Go to commentsHow is 7’s played there? I’m surprised 10 or 11 man rugby hasn’t taken off. 7 just doesn’t fit the 15s dynamics (rules n field etc) but these other versions do.
7 Go to commentsPick Swinton at your peril A liability just like JWH from the Roosters Skelton ??? went missing at RWC
14 Go to commentsLike tennis, who have a ranking system, and I believe rugby too, just measure over each period preceding a world cup event who was the longest number one and that would be it. In tennis the number one player frequently is not the grand slam winner. I love and adore the All Blacks since the days of Ian Kirkpatrick when I was a kid in SA. And still do because they are the masters of running rugby and are gentleman on and off the field - in general. And in my opinion they have been the majority of the time the best rugby team in the world.
19 Go to commentsHaving overseas possessions in 2024 is absurd. These Frenchies should have to give the New Caledonians their freedom.
21 Go to commentsBell injured his foot didn’t he? Bring Tupou in he’ll deliver when it counts. Agree mostly but I would switch in the Reds number 8 Harry Wilson for Swinton and move Rob Valentini to 6 instead. Wilson is a clever player who reads the play, you can’t outmuscle the AB’s and Springboks, if you have any chance it’s by playing clever. Same goes for Paisami, he’s a little guy who doesn’t really trouble the likes of De Allende and Jordie Barrett. I’d rather play Carter Gordon at 12 and put Michael Lynagh’s boy at 10. That way you get a BMT type goalkicker at 10 and a playmaker at 12. Anyways, just my two cents as a Bok supporter.
14 Go to commentsThanks Brett, love your articles which are alway pertinent. It’s a difficult topic trying to have a panel adjudicating consistently penalties for red card issues. Many of the mitigating reasons raised are judged subjectively, hence the different outcomes. How to take away subjective opinions?
7 Go to commentsYes Sir! Surprising, just like Fraser would also have escaped sanction if he was a few inches lower, even if it was by accident that he missed! Has there really been talk about those sanctions or is this just sensational journalism? I stopped reading, so might have missed any notations.
7 Go to commentsAI is only as good as the information put in, the nuances of the sport, what you see out the corner of the eye, how you sum up in a split second the situation, yes the AI is a tool but will not help win games, more likely contribute to a loss, Rugby Players are not robots, all AI can do if offer a solution not the solution. AI will effect many sports, help train better golfers etc.
45 Go to commentsIt couldn’t have been Ryan Crotty. He wasn’t selected in either World Cup side - they chose Money Bill instead. And Money Bill only cared about himself, and that manager he had, not the team.
26 Go to commentsYawn 🥱 nobody would give a hoot about this new trophy. End of the day we just have to beat Ireland and NZ this year then they can finally shut up 🤐
19 Go to commentsTalking bout Ryan Crotty? Heard Crotty say in a interview once that SBW doesen't care about the team . He went on to say that whenever they lost a big game, SBW would be happy as if nothing happened, according to him someone who cares would look down.. Personally I think Crotty is in the wrong, not for feeling gutted but for expecting others 2 be like him… I have been a bad loser forever as it matters so much to me but good on you SBW for being able to see the bigger picture….
26 Go to commentsThis sounds like a WWE idea so Americans can also get excited about rugby, RUGBY NEEDS A INTERNATIONAL CALENDER .. The rugby Championship and Six Nations can be held at same time, top 3 of six nations and top 3 of Rugby championship (6 nations should include Georgia AND another qualifying country while Fiji, Japan and Samoa/Tonga qualifier should make out 6 Southern teams).. Scrap June internationals and year end tours. Have a Elite top six Cup and the Bottom 6 in a secondary comp….
19 Go to commentsThe rugby championship would be even stronger with Fiji in it… I know it doesen’t fit the long term plans of NZ or Aus but you are robbing a whole nation of being able to see their best players play for Fiji…. Every second player in NZ and AUS teams has Fijian surnames… shame on you!!! World rugby won’t step in either as France and England has now also joined in…. I guess where money is involved it will always be the poor countries missing out….
84 Go to commentsNo surprise there. How hard can it be to pick a ball off the ground and chuck it to a mate? 😂
2 Go to commentsSometimes people just like a moan mate!
7 Go to commentsexcellent idea ! rugby needs this 💪
19 Go to comments9 Brumbies! What a joke! The best performing team in Oz! Ditch Skelton for Swain or Neville. Ryan Lonergan ahead of McDermott any day! Best selection bolter is Toole … amazing player
14 Go to commentsI like this, but ultimately rugby already has enough trophies. Trying to make more games “consequential" might prove to be a fools errand, although this is a less bad idea than some others. Minor quibble with the title of the article; it isn’t very meaningful to say the boks are the unofficial world champions when it would be functionally impossible for the Raeburn trophy not to be held by the world champions. There’s a period of a few months every 4 years when there is no “unofficial” world champion, and the Raeburn trophy is held by the actual world champions.
19 Go to comments